Adding Big IP F5 into Big IQ

Hi Network_Virtuoso 

Welcome to the world of BIG-IQ! That's a great question, and I’m happy to help clarify this for you.

Adding a BIG-IP device to BIG-IQ for backups:

When you add a BIG-IP device to BIG-IQ for managing and setting up scheduled backups, there is no downtime introduced for the BIG-IP itself or its traffic processing. The process is primarily focused on establishing communication between BIG-IQ and the BIG-IP device.

Here are the key points for this process:

1. BIG-IP Connectivity: BIG-IQ will communicate with the BIG-IP device via the management interface using APIs (typically HTTPS on port 443 or a custom port you've specified).
2. Backup Process: Once connected, BIG-IQ retrieves the BIG-IP configuration metadata to set up the backup process, but this doesn't interrupt or interfere with traffic management on the BIG-IP system.
3. Scheduled Backups: When you configure regular scheduled backups, BIG-IQ will create snapshots of the BIG-IP configuration at the specified intervals. Again, this is a lightweight process and does not cause downtime or affect live traffic.

Prerequisites to Ensure No Downtime:

To avoid any connectivity or issues during the process:

1. Make sure the BIG-IQ has proper network access to the BIG-IP device (firewall rules, proper routing, etc.).
2. Use appropriate credentials to authenticate the BIG-IP device in BIG-IQ.
3. Ensure no conflicting tasks (such as other administrative updates or software upgrades) are happening on the BIG-IP during the time you're adding it to BIG-IQ.

In short, adding a BIG-IP to BIG-IQ for scheduled backups is non-disruptive and does not cause downtime for the BIG-IP device or the traffic it processes. 

However, generally, the F5 TAC will advise doing this process in a maintenance window.

You can read more on Managing BIG-IP Devices from BIG-IQ

Cheers,

Mo